360° Coverage: 'Boyfriend Maker' App Has Explicit Sexual References

'Boyfriend Maker' App Has Explicit Sexual References

Yet Apple still approved it

Despite Apple's gargantuan efforts to keep the AppStore as squeaky clean as possible, there is a new app that's striking up quite a bit of controversy. Called "Boyfriend Maker," it allows users to create their own virtual boyfriend and then have text-based conversations with him.

The app is obviously targeted at teenage girls, and it seems harmless enough at first glance. However, the website Pocket Gamer received an email from a concerned user about the level of detail that players can go to when the topic of conversation becomes sex.

In one screenshot, the user is depicted asking "when did you last have sex?" The game's reply is, "last night there where 5 but only one was conciouse. they where kids and i didnt want to here them scream" (sic).

The topic of sex also appears to be brought up even if the user never mentions it. The developer, 36you, has so far not responded to requests for comment. It is a Japanese company, so perhaps there was either a translation issue, or these issues just aren't as taboo over there. As for how it passed the App Store, no doubt this explicit content was not revealed to Apple during the review process.

In the course of Apple's greater-than-average censorship practices, the company has managed to brand everything from pictures of women in bathing suits to Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoons as offensive and unacceptable for the App Store.

The fact that this app made it through seems a bit out of the ordinary, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Apple pull it soon.

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Mark RabyWith more than 10 years as a professional writer, Mark Raby has an undeniable pulse on the latest trends. From the quiet rumors to the breaking news of the day, his eagle eye is always focused on the newest scoop and figuring out how and why the big newsmakers are noteworthy and relevant. He is based in New York City.